


Little Star

by sisterawesomeness



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Little Transformers, Seekers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-09-22 08:38:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9596891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sisterawesomeness/pseuds/sisterawesomeness
Summary: Macie always wanted to have her own little Transformers. The top of the line electronics everyone raves over. Through various twists of fate she finally gets her wish. But when something unexpected happens she’s not sure if she made the best decision ever, or the worst choice of her life.





	1. Prologue: Can't Be Happening

**Author's Note:**

> **I'll admit this story was inspired by Bibliotecaria.D's story Domestic Electronics. It's great so go check it out. And while one plot point might be similar I am going in a different direction so don't say I'm ripping that story off. I only own my OC Macie!**

This couldn't be happening. How could this be happening? She had to either be dead, in some sort of nightmare, or maybe in a coma. Because logic told her this wasn't making any sense. She could only stare up at the beings before her.

"What's wrong?" Skywarp asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost!" He laughed the last bit. She clutched at her chest feeling it tighten.

"Give it a rest," Thundercracker took up. "We do look a lot different than when she last saw us."

"Yeah yeah. Come on Macie," he turned to her. "Brother will be so happy that we found you!"

"Boss wants ya too. These orders come right from the top." She didn't move. She couldn't. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

When she didn't move the seekers looked at her closer. TC like he was getting irritated and Warp in concern. She couldn't help it as she fell to the ground and fumbled for her inhaler. Where was it?! Oh yes… That's right. She'd lost it in her desperate run for her life. Not that it had done her any good. "Oh for the love of!" she heard one of them exclaim. "Macie! Don't tell us you're having an attack now?"

"Where's her breathing thing?!"

"I don't know! She should have it!"

She focused on trying to breathe as she glimpsed them and heard them circling around her. How could this have happened? What happened to the cute little guys she knew? The ones who ran around her apartment and acted like they ran the show?

"What in the name of the Allspark is going on here," a high pitched voice demanded. She gasped as she looked up. She saw a very familiar con. She'd know him anywhere. After all he'd been the one she'd first gotten. The one who, in a way, you could say started it all.

"Star," she barely got out. "Scream."


	2. One Dark Night

Macie liked the simple things. Really, she did. She didn't need the biggest flashiest electronics on the market. She didn't go trade in her phone for the latest one. She had an old TV she'd bought at a going out business sale but only used it to hook up to her laptop. That thing she'd had since the dawn of time. It still worked, so she still used it.

So her wanting this one thing wasn't so bad. Was it? Well, technically it wasn't one little thing. It was a vast group of little things. Transformers.

The brand wasn't the first line to hop on the gravy train of tiny robots who could function as appliances. That had been some other big brand name company. But the Transformers line was the first one who had finally gotten it right. Their tiny bots didn't just sit there and function as appliances shaped like robots that could sometimes move around. No, these little bad boys could walk, interact with people thanks to fancy AI, and transform into things! That blew people's minds. Of course what the tiny bots could do depended on what they were to function as.

Macie had gone over the forums to pick out what type she'd like the best. Or what she could even use or would need. Mainly, what she could possibly afford. Even the cheapest of these guys came with a pricy tag. As in she'd have to save up for a long time tag. But she was able to cut out most of the bigger ones that might have been the most popular. She didn't need an Optimus Prime or a Megatron. Mostly because they were usually issued to control other little Transformers. She wasn't sure why but the brand issued two different kinds of bots. Autobots, who were more friendly and geared toward interacting with people and then there were the Decepticons who were more used for the appliance aspect and were more likely to get their work done and not distract you.

So, she decided to go for an Autobot. Some were listed off quickly. Prime was out, as were some obvious ones like Ratchet who was used in hospitals or medical schools. Prowl was used more for cops and Jazz was big at clubs. Blurr, no. First Aid, no. Bumblebee… Maybe. He seemed fun but was moreover geared at kids. Would he be the best fit for her? Considering his price range probably not. So…

Who should she get? There were a lot of them. Blaster seemed alright and she liked music. But the only problem with him was that if you got him, a carrier model, you'd have to more than likely get all of the little cassettes that went with him. And while they were adorable their prices were not, and neither were the quantity of them. It was odd programming but she wouldn't mind having one. Maybe she would be able to save up enough and get one in the future. But for now she wanted a solo bot.

Her best bets seemed to either be a Drift model, he could help her get in shape, or maybe a Rodimus model. He seemed fun. She still had a while before she had enough saved up for any of the models she might be interested in. It wasn't like she hadn't given the Decepticon models some consideration of their own.

She just wanted a nice little bot to interact with. Cons were known for efficiency. Not so much their people skills. That's why they were so popular in offices and workplaces.

"Still trying to find one you want?" Jill asked her.

"Yeah," she admitted and slumped against the counter. They were closed anyway so it wasn't like the customers could see her.

"You know me," she smiled. "I go for the durable ones."

"I know," she stated and looked down at the little Optimus Prime she had. Well, not that little. He was actually one of the bigger models. He'd usually be placed in somewhere like a police station or a fire house, or maybe even a school. But a furniture store? That was sort of odd even to her. Jill had gotten him from her brother who'd wanted a Megatron instead. So she got the little guy for half price. Yeah, bots and cons didn't seem to coexist very well. Since the guys kids were all grown up he didn't really need Optimus anymore. Harsh if you asked her.

These lines were known to imprint on their owners for safety and security reasons. So this Optimus had helped raise a group of kids and been with a family for years… Only to be tossed aside like an old shoe. Jill had said he seemed to look out the window as if looking for them. It nearly broke her heart listening to that. Poor little guy. But if there's one thing the Prime bots are known for its being diligent. It took a while but he accepted Jill as his new person and helped out as much as he could at the store.

She couldn't count the customers who came in with kids who actually left happy because Prime kept their kids entertained and safe while they were signing papers and seeing what type of color they wanted their chairs to be. The little guy just seemed to have this thing about him. Like you couldn't help but be in a good mood around him.

As if to illustrate the point he carried over a stack of papers and sat them in front of Jill. "Thanks OP," she smiled at him. Optimus nodded at them before going over to make sure the cash box was locked. "Don't worry about it kiddo. You'll find the right bot. Just keep lookin'. You'll know which one you want when you see 'em."

"Thanks boss," she said and went about closing up.

~*~

Macie wasn't happy that night when she was biking home. It was a little far to walk every day and she didn't make enough to honestly afford a car. And the bus was out of commission this week. Which meant she was taking the long way home tonight. She lived close enough it wasn't that big of a deal. Just a pain. But after checking her phone she wanted to get home before it started raining again.

"Ah!" she startled when a cat jumped out in front of her. She veered to the side and ate it hard. "Ow! Ow," she muttered looking herself over. Other than a nicely scraped knee she'd be fine. Not to mention she'd now have to bike home with semi wet and muddy pants. "Freaking cat."

She went to get up when she heard a noise. It was next to a nearby trashcan. Her train of sight went downward. "Wait!" she called out seeing the little thing go behind the trash can. "Come back."

She left her bike on the ground as she slowly walked over. "Hello," she said gently to the little bot looking up at her. She was able to make out a tiny purple symbol. Was that a Decepticon? "I'm not gonna hurt you." The little bot didn't look convinced. One of his wings looked ready to fall off. A seeker then?

"What are you doing out here?" she gently asked. "Being out alone can't be good for you and your poor wing." She looked around but didn't see anyone. Anywhere. Who could just up and leave this little guy here? In that condition no less.

"Come on," she acted and gently opened her bag. "Let's get you somewhere warm and safe." He seemed hesitant but she smiled at him. He must've known he didn't have a lot of choices. So he slowly went over and got in the bag.


	3. Just Fine

Macie did her best to warm him up once she got home. She wiped him off as best she could. He had dirt and grime on him and it seemed to be in every joint he had. But he wouldn't let her anywhere near his wing. Not that she could blame him. She turned the heat up and got out her heating blanket. He sat on it and she could swear let out a deep tired sigh.

"Who could do this?" she asked herself. He was so tiny! Even the bigger ones were rather small. If you didn't watch your step then crunch. Who could leave him out in this state? Whoever they were they didn't deserve to be near any Transformers. Probably animals and other people just to be safe.

"Merw."

"Sorry Oreo," she patted her cat on the head. "I can't hold you right now." She turned to go get out of here own dirty clothes. She was met with a surprise when she came back. Oreo sat on the counter, where he wasn't supposed to be, purring. He laid right against the small con on the blanket. In return the con didn't seem bothered and leaned back against the cat. Was he… No, they didn't sleep. They recharged.

She briefly wondered if he was offline. But he would occasionally clench his tiny little hands so she figured he wasn't crashed or something. Seeing as they were all alright she went to sleep on the couch that night. They were all in the same spot the next morning.

~*~

Good thing she was off because the first thing she did was go to the local electronics store to have him looked at. "Hey Dallas," she looked at the one guy she knew there. She only knew him because they went to the same high school.

"Oh hey Macie," he said. "What's up? Finally decide what little guy you wanted?" Then he looked down at the con in her arms. "Or maybe you already did."

"I found him last night. Do you think you can help?"

"The fixing them part isn't really my department. But I know some of the tech guys. Hey, Matt!" He directed her over. "I need you to take a look at a con."

"Alright," the guy said. He sounded so bored it would've been funny if she didn't feel so bad for the little seeker who looked like he could've ripped their heads off.

It took a while and she nervously fidgeted back and forth like you'd do in a hospital. Dallas had some other customers he had to help but came back to check on her. Finally, this Matt guy was done. "Well?"

"From the looks of it you found yourself a seeker. A Starscream unit to be precise."

"Really?" Wasn't Starscream one of the best the con line had to offer? Why would someone just throw him away then? "How is he?"

"Well, from the looks of it he took a good bashing. I don't know. I see it a lot with how kids normally handle these things. Most of him isn't too bad. He just needed cleaned up and a few joints tightened. But his wing is a nightmare. Most of the connections were severed and I'd have to basically rebuild it."

"Can you fix him?"

"Honestly? Yeah, but it would be cheaper in the long run to just get a new one."

She paused at that. "Can you tell who he belonged to?"

"No."

"He must not be registered then," Dallas said and she looked at him. "You're supposed to as soon as you get 'em home but not everyone does. Whoever had him didn't."

"From the look of him he was brand new when he was tossed out."

"Huh," Dallas looked to her. "Well if they're not registered finders keepers. Looks like you made out Macie. Sort of. How much are his repairs gonna set her back?"

He paused thinking it over. "I'd have to replace a lot of things thanks to that wing… Like I said it would probably be cheaper to buy a new one. You could trade him in and get a discount I think."

Macie thought back. She knew bots and cons imprinted. This poor little guy had been mishandled and then flung out like garbage. He looked up at her with tiny little red optics. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Like he was afraid of being abandoned again but expected it.

"I'll pay for you to fix his wing. I'm keeping him." The little seeker looked up at her in shock.

Matt shrugged before he went off to do it. "I knew you were a softie the way you always looked at them," Dallas told her. "You might want to be careful. These things have personalities on them."

"Yeah, and don't worry. I have a cat. I know what that's like."

Thankfully he was able to tell her a few things before he had to get back to other customers. He informed her that Starscream was a decent unit. And he could transform into a tiny jet! How adorable was that? But seekers were their own specialty of cons. They were notorious for their big attitudes. Apparently they thought they were the boss of everyone. She lived with cats her whole life. She was used to that type of attitude.

They were harder to imprint than most cons. But when they did it was hard to get rid of them. Which made her wanna find whoever tossed Starscream out and beat him herself. His programming could've been shot from such a traumatic experience. She could have him rebooted. It would get him back to factory settings. But something about that didn't seem right to her. It would be like brainwashing someone wouldn't it? Although Matt then told her it was supposedly no different than cleaning a laptop. She wasn't sure. Those little optics looking up at her.

Finally he finished and she paid. He was right. She probably could've bought a new bot for this. But… It wouldn't have been the same. She took the little guy back and he at least seemed somewhat better since his wing was fixed.

He looked up at her with his little optics. She gently sat him in her bag and told him to 'hang on' before she got on her bike and went home. "Oreo," she groaned as the cat tripped her when she came in. She went into the kitchen and took him out. She sat him gently on the counter.

"Look… I'm not sure what happened to you," she stated sitting down so they were more eye level. "But I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that." He just cocked his head to the side. As if he was confused.

"I'm not even sure you can fully understand what I'm telling you. The fact is. You're sort of stuck with me. I promise I won't hurt you. At least not on purpose, unless I accidentally trip over you or something." She smiled at him. "But you can have a home here. I may never get your trust and I wouldn't blame you. I'm willing to give it a go."

He just looked at her for a while. "Now," she got up. "I'm gonna make dinner. I'm not sure what you want to do. You can go in the living room and watch TV if you want. Or go explore the apartment. It's your home now too," she moved the chair over so he could more easily get down if he wanted.

"You already met Oreo and he seems to like you. So… Other than that I think we're good. Just be careful if you're on the floor. Let me know you're there."

He seemed to look at her a moment. Before he looked at the chair and seemed to scoff at it. The next moment there was an odd but adorable little noise as he transformed into a jet and flew off. She chuckled. Oops. She forgot about that. He flew out of the kitchen and she wasn't sure where he went off to. She heard door creaks and figured he was looking at the bathroom and bedroom. Probably exploring the lay of the land.

She went about making dinner. She focused on not burning it that she didn't immediately notice when he came back in. It was only when she was hit with a spoon that she took note. He stood on the counter holding her stirring spoon. "Thanks," she gently took it from him. She noticed he stood there looking up at her.

"Wanna watch me cook?" He seemed to consider it and before she could blink he transformed again and flew at her. Before he hit her in the head or something he did it again and landed on her shoulder. He held onto her hair to stable himself as he looked at what she was making.

"Looks like you're comfortable." He just looked at her and made some sort of beeping noise. Before pointing to the pot. "What?" He repeated it and looked more urgently. "You want me to stir?" He nodded and almost jumped up and down. "Okay. Okay. Calm down."

She lightly chuckled as she did what he wanted. He seemed somewhat content as he directed her how to properly make her meal. Like he was the expert. She lightly humored him and laughed. Which seemed to make him angry as he lightly pulled on her hair. If he'd been any bigger it would've hurt. "You're just like a cat. You know," she looked at him. "I think you and me are gonna get along just fine."


	4. Info

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **No Macie and Dallas are just friends. No romance there.**

Macie would be the first to admit that she knew next to nothing about Transformers. She knew they were small and cute and that was it. She'd read a little about some models she could be interested in but nothing serious since she hadn't even decided yet.

To his credit Starscream seemed to be adapting pretty well to being in her apartment. A few days and he acted like he was king of the castle. He went about organizing what he could on his own and made her do the rest. He wanted the couch pillows in just a certain order, the cat toys had to be in a specific spot, and heaven forbid if he saw dirty dishes in the sink.

She wondered if all of the brand had personalities like this or if it was just a seeker thing. Or maybe just a Starscream thing. She looked up some forums but all they told her was that cons mostly were in offices or richer people's homes. There were a few exceptions but they weren't overtly helpful. Apparently most Transformers were meant for houses not apartments.

They didn't necessarily need that big of a space but when it came to higher level cons and bots there was a problem. Megatrons, Optimus's, Starscreams, and some other bots were meant to be in bigger households with other Transformers. They were supposed to boss them around or keep them in line. Having one without any other bots might cause problems. She wasn't sure what type of problems but it was an issue with their AI.

Macie immediately knew she was out of her league here. Though it would explain why Starscream was so bossy. He was meant to boss someone around and the only one there was her. Well there was Oreo but Starscream soon learned you can't boss around cats. Namely after he got batted out of the air.

So she decided to see the expert.

"Hey Macie," Dallas smiled when he saw her. "How you doing? Leave Screamer at home?"

"I left him in charge of picking out my outfit for tomorrow. I was wondering if you could tell me more about Transformers in general so I don't mess this up. Especially Starscream's model."

"No problem. Follow me." He led her down his aisle. She'd intentionally avoided this aisle every time she came to this store. Because she knew if she saw them she'd have to buy one there and then. She didn't want to do that until she was ready but seeing as she had Starscream she didn't feel like she'd be guilted into buying one. She was here to learn.

"Transformers are the best brand we have right now for this type of thing. There's the Go-bots but between you and me they're not nearly as good. You already know that there's bots and cons right?"

"Yeah but that's about it." She saw them. A smile creeping onto her face.

"I get that a lot," Dallas said. "Folks like us see 'em and we're doomed."

"How could someone not like them?" she saw some of the little bots working on various things. There was a Bumblebee organizing what looked like a restock of some accessories. She could make out a few of the models. There was a Drift, a First Aid, a Perceptor, a Sunstreaker, and a few other bots she didn't know.

Bumblebee seemed to notice them first and came over to see what was up. "Hi," she smiled at him.

"Hey Bee," Dallas said. "Keeping everyone in line?" She could swear the little bot nodded. He then extended his hand. "He wants to shake hands with you."

"Oh sorry," she extended her own hand and offered a finger he could grip. "It's nice to meet you too Bumblebee. You're very polite."

"He knows to be at his best around customers. But he is a friendly bot." He looked over what they were doing. "Keep up the good work boys. Now, what all did you want to know?"

"First off I notice they have personalities."

"That's what sets them apart from a lot of the other brands. The smaller they are the bigger the personality, right Bee?" Bee seemed to agree. "The Autobots are friendlier than the cons that's for sure. Bigger on the personalities most of the time too. But they're meant to be. Cons are used mainly in businesses and homes where people don't want to be bothered with things like what they're going to have for dinner or if their kids are doing their homework. Bots are more for interacting. Bee here is a great caretaker for kids. That's what his model was made for really. Though he's popular across the board."

"I can see why. He's adorable."

"Wanna hold him?"

"Can I?"

"Yeah as long as you don't drop him." She put her hands down and Bumblebee climbed right into them.

"AW!" she nearly squealed. Starscream wasn't this cuddly.

"See? Doesn't mean these guys aren't as good at their jobs they are. Percy there is a scientific aid. First Aid is for medical students or someone in that field. Drift is for personal trainers or people who really want to get into shape."

"So what makes them so different from the cons? Programming?"

"You can look at it that way."

"Can a con act friendlier if the person interacts with them more?"

"Screamer not cuddling up to you? And to answer… It's complicated honestly. Their AI is meant to adapt to their owners. Bumblebee is meant to take care of kids but say someone's grandmother lived with them. He'd then adapt to take care of her."

"Hm," she said looking down at the yellow bot in her hands. "I read the brands don't get along that well."

"That's an understatement," he sighed. "I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to pit them against each other. Maybe it was a product thing or to keep people pacified so they don't go Terminator on our asses." He looked at Bee as the little bot was shaking his hands in a disapproving manner.

"It's fine Bee! I went to school with her."

"Yeah, I've heard him say worse than that," Macie agreed. But it still looked like the little bot wasn't happy he was cursing in front of a customer. "Could a bot and con get along?"

"In some cases yeah. It depends on how big the place is and the owner. I had this lady once who had a Jetfire unit in her house thanks to her husband and she had a Slipstream. They fought a couple times but dealt with each other for the sake of their owners."

"What if cons are around other cons? Or bots around other bots like this? Do they ever fight?"

"Sometimes. Mainly cons fight bots and vice versa. But sometimes cons infight and there have been a few disputes among bots. They have the leaders to keep them in line. We don't carry them in store but that's for a reason. I don't know why but the leaders can never work together."

"I've heard of that."

"That's why we have Bee here instead. We put him in charge of the bots here."

"Did you do that or?"

"It was just what happened. When we first got these guys we weren't sure who to put in charge. Logic would dictate it be someone like Drift or our Ultra Magnus unit. Instead I came in one day to see that Bee here was directing the bots to help each other out of their case when we unlocked it."

"How'd you come out on top?" she asked the bot. He just looked up at her. "Not telling your secret huh?" She looked at him. "How come he doesn't fight with the cons?"

"They do but mainly the cons start it. Thankfully Bee has the mentality of trying to keep the peace. Come on, I'll show ya the cons." She carefully put Bee back on the case and waved at him when he waved at her goodbye.

They didn't have to go far seeing as it was just the other side of the aisle. "Alright guys," Dallas said. "How's it going?"

Macie didn't recognize as many of these guys but they looked up from where they'd been packing away what looked like other Transformers in their packages into a case.

"Onslaught, how's it going buddy?"

She nearly laughed when the bot looked ready to have a breakdown. He gestured wildly at the other bots. "That bad?"

"Onslaught likes to exaggerate once in a while. They can't be that bad." Onslaught gave him a look.

"Looks like they have personalities to me."

"Mainly because their our demo models. They're supposed to be like that." Before she could blink a small helicopter flew at her and all but landed in the top of her shirt. "Vortex!"

"He's fine… What's he doing?"

"He likes to explore. Vortex now. I've told you not to do that to people. You're gonna drive them off!"

Macie honestly didn't mind as the little bot had transformed and was now hanging out at the top of her hoodie like he owned it. It was cute.

"I swear… You're in deep trouble dude." They looked over and Onslaught was waiting tapping his little foot as if he were waiting for the other con. She heard what sounded like beeps and whirls as Onslaught must've cursed Vortex out.

The little con seemed to sulk and sink deeper into her shirt like she could save him. But then he climbed back and flew back down to the case. Onslaught laid into him some more before the little con sulked off.

"I hope he's not in that much trouble."

"You might be fine with it but the next lady looking for an office assistant won't be," Dallas rubbed his temples. "He has to learn."

Macie happened to look over and saw a little bit of red as one optic looked at her from behind another display case. Dallas seemed to follow her gaze. "Shockwave, you'd better just be helping."

"He's a Shockwave? Isn't that…"

"One of the higher cons yeah. You're wondering why he's not in charge instead of Onslaught?" She nodded. "We tried that once. Eh," he shook. "Shockwave is meant, like Percy, to be in the science field. Unfortunately when left to his own devices and in charge of other cons he… Tends to get out of hand. He was messing with some of the other cons and was working on taking over the bot aisle when we came in one morning. Took us two days to sort it all out."

"Damn."

"That's why we put Onslaught in charge. Hard worker and since he's already been in charge of a group he isn't bad at leading others."

"Shockwave just went with this?"

"The odd thing about him is he's fine if kept busy and told who's the boss. He gets to play around with how things are organized from time to time and he's peachy with someone else being in charge."

"That's good I guess. So what do you know about Starscream?"

"You know seekers are their own brand of Divas. Starscream being the biggest," Dallas leaned against a case. "He's meant to be a personal assistant/organizer."

"Explains why he wanted me to change my pants before I left my apartment."

"That would be it. He's meant for some rich person who can't bother writing down their own appointments or scheduling reservations and such." Thinking about it that explained so much to her.

"You know I'm not rich."

"I'm thinking… He should adapt. But there's one thing you have to remember. Starscream always wants to be the leader. If there isn't a Megatron to keep him in place the owner has to."

"How do you mean?"

"You let him get away with doing some things and that's fine. But you can't let him control everything or it'll go to his little head and mess with the AI. He has to know he's not the leader you are."

"So if I stand up to him it'll be alright?"

"I know it sounds bad but yeah. That's basically how it works. One thing that might help is that Screamer is an attention hog. The more you ignore him…"

"The more it drives him nuts."

"You got it."

"I could have fun with that."

"I bet."

"How about socializing with other cons or bots?"

"Could be tricky. Depends who it is. If it's a Soundwave or Shockwave for example his model usually tries to confront them but it usually comes out a draw. Any lower con he'll try to boss around. And bots… Could be an issue. Maybe a friendly bot could work. No promises."

"Well thanks for the info."

"No problem. Come back some time and we'll talk some more and shit. You'll have to see the ones I have at home. You'll flip."

"See ya," she called and left as other customers started heading for the aisle. At least she wasn't completely in the dark. But even Dallas couldn't predict everything. Guess she'd have to figure it out as she went.


	5. Boundaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Sorry this took forever peeps but I needed a break.**

Macie wondered when exactly she should put her foot down. By no means was she a pushover with people but when the one ordering you around was a tiny bot with fluttering wings then… Well how could you deny that cuteness? She did know that she'd have to let Starscream know she was in charge. At the moment she figured he considered himself the head of the house with Oreo next and her at the bottom. Oreo didn't care if Starscream was cute or not. He'd meow at him or swipe him out of the way if the little seeker wouldn't move.

As it was an opportunity presented itself.

"No Starscream." The seeker just stared up at her in shock. She didn't mind him picking out her clothes but she wouldn't budge on him doing her hair for her. No one touched her hair. Not even the little winged cuteness that had started glaring up at her.

No? Starscream didn't seem to know the meaning of the word. He held the hairbrush which she plucked out of his grasp to simply set back down on the table. He made those weird squeaky beeps and clicks he sometimes did when he got upset.

"I said no," she repeated. Then turned her back on him. The little seeker didn't seem to know what to do as she could hear him practically cursing her in whatever noises he made. She heard him fly at her but didn't react at all when he landed on her shoulder and even lightly pulled her hair. Macie didn't even turn her head to the side when he pulled harder. It only hurt a little but she seemed to be winning. Starscream didn't like the fact she wasn't even acknowledging him.

So she went about doing what she'd been doing as the little seeker purposefully tried to mess up her hair. Not that it wasn't already messy. Then again as long as she wasn't going to work she didn't rightly care what she looked like. He briefly thought he'd won when she picked him up. But she only did that to sit him on the table and quickly bolted out the door before he could even try to come after her. Normally if she left him there alone she'd give him a task like picking out her outfit for tomorrow or organizing her mugs the way he liked them. She'd also say how she'd be back.

This time she didn't say a word. Not one word of what he was to do or when she'd be back. It was hard but she did it.

~*~

She wasn't entirely sure what to expect when she got back. Maybe something destroyed. Which had been why she'd intentionally closed the other doors. So he couldn't reach anything overtly important or clog the toilet or something. He would most likely pull that stunt out of spite.

When she got back nothing she could initially see was out of order. Nothing was shattered on the floor and aside from a few lights nothing was on. Those were good signs. She didn't call out her normal greeting but waited to find him.

He was on the couch in his designated favorite spot on one of the cushions. Oreo lay contentedly on his cat tree not caring in the slightest about the situation. "Starscream," she said and he jerked up. He looked at her with his little wings fluttering back and forth. "I don't mind you being in charge of things eighty percent of the time. But that other twenty percent. That's me. Got it?"

He looked at her for a moment and she swore she could almost hear the little gears turning about in his head. Like he was debating if he wanted to fight her on this more. Seeing how stubborn he was she was afraid he'd throw another tantrum or snub her or something.

Instead she smiled as he stood up and just flew onto her shoulder. He didn't openly admit or acknowledge the fact she was the real boss in this equation. But he wasn't screaming in little beeps anymore or pulling on her hair. Macie figured that meant she'd won the war.

"Hey Starscream?" he looked at her questioningly. "How would you like to come to work with me tomorrow?"

~*~

The Following Day.

Macie would admit she was somewhat going into this introduction thing blind. The forums she'd read said that Starscream's and Optimus' would either get along alright or fight like a Megatron and Optimus. Depended on both the bots and the situation. She'd warned her boss so she wasn't just springing it on her.

Jill was fine with it and if she could have another little bot running around helping all the better. It would only be an issue if Starscream decided to mess with Optimus or was too big of a distraction.

To her credit she warned Starscream to be on his best behavior because this was her job and her job meant they had money for things like that funny little monkey mug Starscream stared at every time they happened to go to the store. He would never openly admit he wanted the thing but she knew.

Starscream surveyed the shop with a look of disinterest when she first entered. He didn't seem to change his opinion until he saw Optimus on the counter. That caught the little seeker's full attention. He seemed to startle and straighten his wings up like that would make him somehow look bigger.

Optimus for his part did look surprised but just stood where he was. He didn't make a move toward the smaller seeker or seem threatening. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Starscream, of course, made the first move.

He seemed to almost scream at the Prime in beeps and whirls. Macie could've guessed he was cursing at the Prime by body language. Probably telling him he was so much better and that the cons were better than bots… Blah blah blah. Optimus, to his credit, didn't react. That might've pissed the seeker off more than anything. He couldn't seem to get a rise out of the Prime.

After that they were kinda kept separate as Macie and Jill went about their daily work. People seemed interested at seeing the bots but other than a few general questions didn't delve too deeply. Like how someone would ask where you got a pair of shoes at or a new purse.

Starscream was all about keeping things organized and where they should put new stock out and adjust things in the store. He wasn't about interacting with people unless someone happened to notice his appearance. Optimus more than made up for that with his personal skills and knowledge of reoccurring customers.

Macie thought things had gone alright by the end of her shift. Starscream hadn't thrown a tantrum since he first met Optimus. The Prime was courteous to a fault but didn't let the seeker get in the way of his work.

"Alright," Macie sighed. "Let me grab my bag and we'll leave okay?" Starscream waved her off as he looked about the store. She knew from experience that he must've been planning what he'd change about the place in his head. He'd often do the same thing looking at how she organized her closet.

It only took her a minute to get her things but she paused when she came back. Jill was off helping a customer and the seeker was still on the counter where she'd left him. But so was Optimus. They were only a few feet apart. The closest they'd been all day. She could faintly make out beeps and bloops from the two of them. Higher pitched energized Starscream and lower calmer Optimus. She had no idea what they could be talking about.

But it was possibly the most contemplative she'd seen the seeker. His wings would occasionally flutter but not enough to show he was upset. He pointed off into the store and she couldn't tell what he was pointing at. Optimus seemed to know because he looked in the same direction and nodded his little head. Starscream paused in whatever he was going on about and crossed his little arms and looked away. She'd never seen him do that before…

Optimus said something and the seeker seemed to reply. It didn't seem angry though… Still just to be safe. "I'm back," she lightly interrupted them. Starscream veered around on her so fast it's a wonder he didn't launch into the air. Was he embarrassed? "Time to go," she opened her bag for him to jump in.

Starscream hesitated a moment and actually glanced at the Prime before he got in the bag. "See you tomorrow Optimus," Macie waved at the Prime. He gave a little wave back and seemed to say something. "Say goodbye Starscream." In return the little seeker seemed to sink further into the bag. Macie smiled seeing Optimus still give him one wave as they left.

"I think he likes you," she told him as they left holding her bag to her chest so she could look down at him. The seeker didn't deem that important enough to even acknowledge as he slunk to the bottom of the bag. It was hilarious and she'd be sure to tell Dallas the next time she saw him.

When she got ready for work the next day Starscream was already waiting in her bag. Only because he wanted to reorganize that disaster of a store she worked at. It was his job. Nothing more, nothing less. And if she acted like she was really busy occasionally or focusing on something else she'd once in a while see the seeker and Prime interacting. Lost in their own little world. Too oblivious to see her taking pictures with her phone.


	6. Someone Copied Me and More

**Hello peeps. I apologize for being so slow lately but life has been coming at me hard. I've decided to take a month off. Honestly I love writing and my stories but lately it's just not been fun. And that's the entire reason I write to begin with. Hopefully, the break will give me new ideas and energy for these stories. I'll see you all soon.**

**Also on another important note Planet of the Apes: Star-Crossed Lovers by moon_goddess_118 on Archive of Our Own is eerily similar to my story Surviving the Planet of the Apes. Like literally the same wording! What the hell? I don't mind if you get inspired by my work but don't copy and paste it!**


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